Du und Ich You and Me
by Ranja86
Summary: Set after the explosion of the RAPT HQ.. Sei, Amy and Meg are continuing their work they started But what happened to Joe? An old friend will be of crucial importance, playing a bigger role than one might think..
1. Chapter 1

Bakuretsu Tenshi – Du und Ich (You and Me)

Spoiler: Based on the Series and the Sequel of Bakuten! (You better see that first before you read that..)

Disclaimer: Not any character of that series is mine.. As well as for the title, which is a song by 'Letzte Instanz', a German Folk Rock Band. Anyone who wants to know about the text is welcome to email me.

Setting: Shortly after the explosion of RAPT HQ in Tokyo

Chapter 1 – Saving an Angel

It was Mario who found her.

Lying motionless between a charred heap of steel and concrete, she had the appearance of an angel - fallen into mis-credit and kicked out of heaven. Her clothes burnt or blackened, silver hair messed up and a deep wound on her face, trailing down her left cheek to her upper neckline, blood dripping down in many thin lines.

It looked as if she was dead. Finally gone down to hell.

Stepping closer Mario curiously examined the limp body and found a pulse. It was low, almost at the zero line, but it was there.

"So I found you.." she lifted the lifeless body up, threw her over her shoulder and walked away in the moonless night.

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Late in the night Jo finally awoke, staring dizzy at the grey concrete ceiling she faced. Groaning, she regained consciousness and forced herself to move her limbs. At last, she didn't miss any parts..

"Uh.." she felt a sharp pain on her left cheek and carefully touched the neat white bandage which had been wrapped around it.

She felt weak. Weak in a way she'd never experienced.

What had happened?

"So it is you.." Jo spoke, not taking her red eyes off the ceiling. "Did you take care of my wounds?" she naturally asked, being aware that she didn't wear anything.

"I did." the high-pitched voice replied, being hidden in the shadow of a wall. Streetlights outside cast the room in a dim light, allowing only to see infinite shapes.

"Why?" Jo couldn't hold back the question.

"I don't know."

"Huh.."

"You were almost dead, back then," Mario told her, leaning comfortably at the wall. "I rescued you before the remaining RAPT forces could've gotten their hands on you."

"Where is Sei?" Jo remembered the last few seconds before the explosion.

"I don't know. Most likely dead."

"I see."

Sighing, the girl relaxed and closed her eyes again. This was too much of a sudden to think about. She would go mad if she remembered too much.

It was better to forget. To forget and live on.

And she was alive. Barely. That was all what counted.

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It had been hell to get out of that chaos the destruction of the RAPT HQ had caused. Almost the entire building had come crashing down and burst into a giant explosion. The whole city had been in a frenzy to keep down the spreading fire, and preventing blocks from crashing into another due to the huge shockwave.

A miracle she survived.

Some of the gunshots had merely grazed her; some had hit her, but all in all she was still alive.

Thanks to Jo.

She had dragged her into Jango and kicked out of the tower before the shining greenish brain had initiated the explosion. It had been seconds, but enough to escape.

All she had left at that time of Jo was that beige scarf she always had worn. By literally kicking her in the Mech, the girl had given her the cloth with the words:

"Give that to Meg!"

And Sei, aware of her own approaching death (at least she had thought so), had tied that scarf to the bar, putting a sign to Meg – If she ever would come that way.

Sei didn't know if Jo really had died, saving her.

The Mech had saved her from death, getting battered and worn out all over. Leo had cried when he had seen his all-time-favourite in that condition.

But it had lasted a few days before Leo had found her. Taken to hospital by a kind citizen, who had picked her up almost dead at an iron bar.

Later on, when they had started searching for Jo, she already had been taken away by Mario. They never found her, nor remains which could've led them to the girl.

She had to assume that Jo was dead.

The mere possibility had driven tears into her eyes. Tears full of pain and sorrow. Meg, who had arrived only a few days after, also couldn't hold back her tears, and for the second time in between few days she let go all of her pride.

But she regained her calmness surprisingly fast, believing that Jo had done the right thing. She had told her GoodBye to save her, taking the whole fight for herself.

It had Meg taken a few days before she had understood Jo. She may have been a soldier, brought up to fight and kill, but deep down she had cared for Meg more than for anyone else..

And they had been victorious. Victorious over RAPT and their cruel tyranny.

So Meg had decided that the scarf should remain where it had been tied to. Anybody who would see it should remember their victory.

Remember two brave people who had risked their life to free Tokyo from RAPT's tyranny.

And it was over. RAPT as such didn't exist any longer. It had vanished. Swallowed from the earth – By the Angel from Hell.

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"Why are you alive?" Jo put the question to Mario - Who was leafing through the Internet via a Laptop, obviously collecting information.

She had taken care of the injured girl for some days, and thanks to the cerebral programming she recovered quickly.

Only that wound on her face would certainly become a nasty scar.

"I could smash up some of their cybots, and then I was knocked off my feet," Mario replied, staring at the bluish screen. "I could get my hands on one of them and escape."

"Ah," Jo looked down, clutching the blanket of the bed she was sitting on. She still felt strange.. as if something missed.

Mario watched the still girl curiously. Her mind and gaze seemed to be dwelling somewhere else. Could it be..?

Smiling, she got up and walked over, her movements almost feline. Clad in her tight-fitting black suit.

"You are still weak," she told her. Bending over she brushed a strand of the messy silver hair aside and kissed the girl slightly on her lips. "But I won't let anyone hurt you anymore. Because I like you."

For a second Jo stiffened, but relaxed as she could sense Mario's mind. There was nothing bad in her ambitions.

They were comrades. Two of a kind.

It was only naturally that they shared a special bond.

"You still think of her?" Mario's red eyes glistened dangerously and she pinned the girl, by now only clad in a wide, beige T- Shirt, to the bed.

"Her?" Jo stated coolly.

"That girl," Mario kissed her again, more forcefully. "Meg."

"I'm over that."

She had said GoodBye to Meg, breaking all bonds which they had shared. Any feeling concerning Meg had been broken too and buried deep down. It had been hard, but necessary.

It had been the only way.

"I made a decision," Jo told Mario, not showing any other physical reaction. "And I will stick to that."

"I see," Mario smiled at her. "We are both soldiers, trained to fight. We don't know anything else, and we don't want any other thing."

"I know." she now looked into cold red eyes again. "We can't escape our fate."

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	2. Chapter 2

Bakuretsu Tenshi – Du und Ich (You and Me)

Chapter 2 – Living on

"Hi Sei!" Amy greeted the young woman cheeringly, waving towards her.

She had brought along her Teddy Bear which staffed the equipment for her Notebook and Online devices. Together with Meg, she had come here to fetch Sei who had been released from hospital.

Smiling, Sei stepped out into bright sunlight, the weather still warm. To see Meg wearing the red coat of Jo, Sei's eyes took on a sad expression.

"He.. Sei?" Amy stared at her, smiling wryly. "Why are you so sad?"

"It's just.."

"Jo will be fine," the girl simply stated. "She always wanted to fight till the end, crushing any enemy to dust."

Meg smiled at the girl. "I know. She has become a real Angel of Death, going down to hell with a Big Bang."

Smirking deviously, Amy added: "I bet she's giving the Devil a hard time down there."

"Yeah.." Sei pulled herself together and straightened up. "So, let's start our work. I think we will have a lot to do, right?"

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- About six months later –

"We got a job," Mario got up from the chair she had been sitting on. "Mr. Okusa wants us to have it done by tomorrow."

"Hm," Jo emerged from the sofa and took on her tight-fitting black suit. Similar to Mario's, it had proven to be the most effective.

No disturbing flattering clothes. Just the essential.

"Where is it?" she took her two guns, examined them closely and then holstered them. She still kept her Desert Eagles, being a bit melancholic about the past.

Besides, one could make big holes with their bullets.

Mario strolled over to the still girl, her eyes fixed on her. "In Aoyama," she replied, her red eyes sparkling with excitement. "I guess it will be a lot of fun."

Jo turned around, her gaze as cold as usual. "Probably."

"Man, when I see your face, I wonder if you are human at all..," the girl sighed. "Smile a bit!"

She met a raised eyebrow: "Why?"

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The job was simple – Just to enter in the house of that politician, occupying that document from there and getting out again.

Nothing special.

Although Jo would've liked it better had she had her Mech. Sometimes she missed Jango.

And sometimes she missed _them_. Especially one person..

But she couldn't change it. And she didn't want to.

She had joined Mario, taking small jobs to earn a living. And that girl truly was a very talented fighter, better than Jo herself.

Since they were comrades, aware of their special abilities and link to each other, it turned out more effective if they worked together.

More than it would have been with the others..

"We're there," Mario looked at the huge iron gate, emerging in front of them. It was a clear, moonlit night, to Jo's disapproval.

Too easy to be seen.

"We just sneak in, split up to search for the document - which must be somewhere in the left wing of the house – and then depart," Mario let her in the plan.

"Alright."

"If you encounter any enemies, just try to eliminate them STILL!" Mario knew about Jo's unpredictable temper.

" I don't want the whole damn escort tracking us down!"

"I'll try," Jo nodded, making a face. After one week without anything to do – save some interesting hours at night – she yearned for a fight.

"Try?" Mario raised one eyebrow, but in the next instant Jo had vanished from her sight.

Sighing, she flattened herself to the wall; and with a smooth movement overcoming it. At the inner courtyard, the green lawn looked almost like a carpet.

Perfect for being silent.

Hushing between the bushes, she soon reached the edge of the house. When she heard a muffled sound, the girl took her gun and tensed. But as she stepped around the corner, gun ready for firing, Mario relaxed again.

Jo was standing over the dead man, her black boot on his chest. "He was in my way," she simply stated. "And I didn't cause a fuss."

"Not yet."

"Let's go," Joe held her guns close to her body, heading towards the building's entrance. "I have a bad feeling about this."

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Swiftly entering the house, the girls separated and started searching for the document. What politician was still keeping a document in a printed version?

And why where there no bodyguards or any weapons outside?

It seemed too easy.

Leafing through the corridors and rooms, Jo couldn't find anything that resembled any kind of document.

She discovered things which alone might have been enough to cause the kick-out of this politician - But not a single damn written paper!

Annoying.

After quite a while, in which Jo received the tingling feeling that this house with its long dark corridors and huge hall-like rooms was slowly beginning to drag on her nerves, she spotted a great dark wooden door, being open just a slit so that the dim light of a bulb could cast its light on the floor.

Had she finally found something useful?

Carefully opening the door, she stepped onto the brown carpet, gun pointing towards a man in a swifel-chair; who was sitting in front of a little fire.

"I don't know who you are, old man, but you will tell me now where to find that document," Jo said to him in her low voice, red eyes reflecting the flames of the fire. "And you better cooperate."

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In the meanwhile Mario had made her way through the other part of the building's wing. Had she missed something?

Since a while, she had taken on the feeling of being in a labyrinth, not sensing anything usual anymore. It was as if she was blocked by some strange force..

And she had lost the mental link to Joe.

What was wrong here?

A sudden stirring sound let her turn round – And jump to the side in the next second as the cybot fired with a laser-beam at her, cutting the marble sculpture behind her in half.

"Fucking cybots!" Mario cursed and took cover behind a thick wall. "I should've known!" Aiming at the machine- like thing she fired her gun twice, the shots merely grazing it at its metal parts.

It was of no use.

Just as Mario tensed herself to jump at the thing, she heard another humming sound and her eyes widened when she recognized.

They had been hiding in the shadows of the walls, being camouflaged perfectly by a technique she had never seen before.

They had all been there - And they had passed them without knowing it!

"Bastards!" the girl drew her second weapon, a long and sharp sword, her eyes glistening with rage. "You will pay for that!"

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Smiling, the man turned around, hands perfectly folded together. "What is this honourable visit you pay me?" he smiled self-consciously.

"Shut up," Jo pointed the gun at him, finger ready at the trigger. "Tell me where the document is."

"Why should I do that? And why is Okusa sending just a girl like you?" he smirked. "I thought he at least might have some sort of taste."

Jo drew her finger back.

"You're inches from death. You better tell me what I want to know..," she started - But stared in astonishment, when a huge dark shadow emerged behind the man.

What was that?!

"Or what?" the old man still smiled. "Amazed? They are my new bodyguards. Sweet, don't you think?"

The shadow had now fully come into light and revealed itself as a cybot, not very big, but well-armoured.

It had practically popped out of nowhere!

Turning around, Jo was suddenly facing three other cybots, being perfectly hidden in almost not recognizable niches in the walls. They had all been there, and she had not noticed!

What kind of sick joke was that?!

Tensing, Jo leapt to the left, dodging the laser-beam of the metallic machine-thing. It burnt the table in a heap of wood, leaving a small grey cloud of ashes.

Firing back twice with her guns, she jumped to the other side, and faced the next cybot.

"I admit, it's a bit unfair, but well…," the man got up and hid himself in the corner while the cybots were doing their work. "You seem like you can handle that quite well."

"I'll kill you, once I crush your damn machines to dust!" Jo yelled at him, now really angered, and climbed up the cockpit of one of the cybots which got shot at by its companion - The central brain in its cockpit darted lightning and caught fire, causing the machine to stop.

One beaten.

Leaping from the stopped cybot over to its companion, Jo struggled to get a hold on the smooth and cold metal. It was tricky to not fall down, even for her.

Once she had dodged the metal and swinging arms and cables, the girl was taking position at the cockpit and fired three times to break through the glass.

However, that cybot was tougher than one thought. Not a scratch altogether.

Fuck.

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"What the..!" the girl growled at the machine, ducking before one of its arms could've cut her in half. The razor-sharp blade swung at her and missed by inches. It hit the great wardrobe behind her and split it in half like a piece of butter.

Taking aim, Jo fired one of the bullets at the blade whereas another one hit the link between the cables, causing the arm to fall down motionless and cast the room into chaos.

Although it had the dimension of a hall, the cybots could barely move freely without damaging anything.

But somehow they managed to leave the place in whole.

Strange.

"You damn cybots!" Joe now went totally furious and the violet mark appeared on her arm and shoulder. "How dare you meddle with me!"

Making a fist she simply smashed the cockpit and cracked the glass to rip out the central cables, cutting her hand despite the gloves she wore.

Unfortunately the cybot didn't make it that easy: It sent a ramified lightning and knocked Jo back, so that she was smashed against a wall – which came crashing down with a thunderous sound.

Buried by wood, plaster and bricks, the last cybot couldn't spot the person at first and remained there without any reaction; except swaying its head from left to right for scanning.

"Well.. it seems our Lady got a heavy burden on her shoulders, don't you think?" the man pushed himself off the niche and strolled towards the heap of bricks.

There was no sight of Jo.

"Already bitten the dust?" he smirked at the heap, leaning against his remaining cybot. "Too sad, it was starting to be fun."

"It is not over yet.." he heard a deep menacing growl and suddenly the heap began to emerge into height. The bricks fell down, clearing the view for Joe who was struggling to get on her feet again.

Coughing, she drew her weapons and fired one more time with them, this time at a spot between the metal swinging arms, hitting the core lock for the mechanics.

For one instant she had caught a glimpse of something beige, hidden inside that body of metal. Deep in the very centre.

"Your talents lack the profession," the man was covered by his cybot, which now couldn't move properly any longer and swung des-orientated from one side to another. "You damage my cybot without destroying it."

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"I never meant to destroy it in the first place.." Jo's red eyes sparkled with rage, her face covered in dust and bruised.

"What did you…?!" the man just saw the girl leaping forward and taking one shot with her gun towards the small centre block, which held the safe together.

It burst in many small shards and gave way to the document which had been hidden inside. But just before Jo reached it, the man drew a weapon himself and fired at the girl, the shot traversing her right shoulder-blade.

The force of the gun knocked her back and caused Jo to stagger for some seconds.

"You thought I would make it that easy?" the man smiled, gun still aiming at Joe. The blood was dripping down, almost invisible on the black suit. A sharp pain pulsed where the bullet had hit her.

Drawing the gun in her left hand, Jo just heard the hammer hit an empty magazine. It made an unmistakeable clicking sound.

"No bullets left? What a pity," her opponent smirked and drew his finger back to pull the trigger. "It was amusing, but now your life will end."

"You're mistaken," Jo ignored the pain and lifted her right arm.. She fired the last bullet of the two magazines, hitting the man in his heart. He almost at once fell down without a sound.

Jo went over to him, stepping on the man's chest:

"For people like you there's always one left," she said to the corpse, ignoring her own wounds.

Swiftly examining the still-standing cybot, she pulled her hand in and grasped the document. After taking a short look at it she sighed:

"All that trouble for a scrap of paper.."

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In the meanwhile, Mario had been occupied with the other cybots which were replacing the bodyguards.

They had given her a hard time; but the girl had taken them with a sense of humour, finally getting a chance to let out all of her tensions.

The place was now looking like a huge battlefield - Broken parts and metal shards everywhere which had formerly made of five cybots.

Some cut in pieces by her sword, others being grazed or burnt slightly by the bullets of her gun. Panting heavily, Mario was standing in the very centre of the destruction, worn out and gasping for breath.

Her suit showed some cuts and holes, her face and arms being bruised and cut at some parts, but all in all she was still in one part.

Hearing a thudding sound, she turned, sword in her hand which pointed at the intruder.

It was Jo, walking slowly towards her partner, document in her hand. "So you took all the fun for yourself.." she murmured and let her gaze wander over the scenery.

"You got the document?" Mario recognized the sheets in Jo's hand at once.

"Yes."

"Good."

"Let's go, before other forces will get their hands on us..," Jo stated and walked away, but suddenly twitched because of the pain. Mario saw her struggling with herself and got over to her immediately.

"Are you hurt?!" she asked and swiftly examined the wounded body. When she withdrew her hand, it was red with blood. No further explanation needed.

Without investigating more, she led the girl the way back: "Come on, we have to leave."

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After 20 minutes, they were out of reach to any who might have pursued them. Sneaking into an alley, Mario decided to give Jo a rest and to examine the wounds more closely.

She just had had to make sure no one had been following.

Her back leaning on a concrete wall, Jo was staring at the black night sky while Mario was partially stripping the girl off her clothes.

"What happened?" she had found the wound and ripped off a part of her own clothes to bandage the bleeding wound.

"I got shot."

Mario frowned. "You almost collapse by just one shot?"

"I don't know.. maybe it was a toxic," Joe replied coolly, her red eyes still fixed at the sky. Suddenly she was gripping Mario's shoulder. It was obvious that there definitely was something wrong with her. Maybe she was right and the bullet had been poisoned..

"You always get into trouble..," Mario sighed, but tensed when the girl next to her loosened her grip. Without any sound Jo had slipped into unconsciousness and turned off her vital signs to almost zero.

"Jo! Wake up!" Mario could catch her before she had slumped down on the ground. "Get a hold of yourself!"

But it was useless.

So she didn't have another choice.

"Jeez.. now you're making ME do the whole work on my own.." she shook her head and lifted the girl up, her arms around her neck. Carried piggyback Mario took Jo to their home. It was responsibility as well as some kind of affection for her which made her do it.

And comrades weren't left at the battle-field.

Never.


End file.
